Pet
by toxic-shonot
Summary: [Furry/Animal AU] Dr Klipse and his team awake to find that 1. they have crash-landed in a strange forest in the middle of nowhere and 2. they have transformed into anthropomorphic animals. The Doctor, preferring to not sit idle, invesstigates how animalistic they've become.


I wanted today to be normal, mundane, uneventful. Well, as any of those things as it could be for as a mad scientist like myself.

After the failure of countless plots and the destruction of several bases, thousands upon thousands of dollars going up in smoke, all thanks to those little BRATS CALLED TEAM CORE TECH, AND IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON THEM, ESPECIALLY THAT SUNO BOY, I, _I_ -!

I needed a break. Just _the thought_ of them made my blood boil.

I believed today I could have relaxed, not worry about anything. Take a day off, if you will.

 _No._ I just _had to_ wake up.

I awoke to a perplexing situation: I had seemingly shapeshifted to a different _species_. Still somewhat human, I was covered in bright red fur with darker spots. I had a short tail, thick muzzle, paws and roundish ears. When I regarded my reflection for the first time, a strange laughing whimper swelled from the back of my throat, completely uncontrolled. I was a spotted hyena.

This was not what I had in mind when I said I wanted to transform.

As it turned out, I was not the only one who had been afflicted by this condition. My loyal butler, Hargrave, had become a cat. Grey with a white lower jaw, neck and paws. He was surprised to see me when I entered.

Dom Pyro was a black and white bearded vulture, with his arms doubling as his wings. He seemed to be the most enthusiastic about the change.

And Six…I did not know what he was. He appeared to be hyenoid but not quite a like me, as if he was a hybrid. He was, rather bizarrely, a pastel pink.

To make matters worse, we had crash landed.

"Where are we?" I asked sternly.

Hargrave tapped the buttons of the ship's main computer somewhat frantically. The computer was on but the windows that were summoned on the giant screen were blank.

He stopped with drooped shoulders and folded ears. He turned to me.

He stammered, "I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea, sir. The GPS system has been knocked out."

I grunted irritably as I rubbed my head with a hand.

Excellent. Another _headache._

Dom giggled, "Okay. Since we're stuck here, I'm going exploring."

I regarded him from the corner of my eye. He was admiring his wings again.

"Maybe I could learn how to use these."

He wandered off.

Then Six piped up, "Father, can I go with him?"

I gestured my hand for him to leave. He did so with a grin.

I plodded to my throne and slumped into it. I propped my head up with my hand.

"Why is there always _something_ that goes wrong?"

My butler looked concerned.

I lifted my head and tensely gesticulated, "All I want is just ONE day that is _free_ from frustration."

I leant my head against my hand again. My butler blinked as his tail tried to shake off the frizz from my sudden crescendo.

His eyes flickered to the side then he smiled sympathetically.

"Would tea help, sir?" he suggested quietly.

I grimaced, "Please."

He bowed before departing from the room.

I glared at the screen with the blank windows. I snarled.

* * *

I lead the butler cat into my laboratory and shut the door behind him. It slid down with a clunk.

He glanced at the door then looked to me.

"Er, what are you up to, sir?"

His tail curled into a question mark.

I crossed my arms, "Curiosity has gotten the better of me. Clearly, we resemble animals while still possessing some of our humanity."

A hand held my chin as I scanned him head to toe.

"My only question is: to what extent are we like animals?"

"Ah," his face lit up with recognition, "an experiment. What are you testing for?"

"Involuntary animalistic reflexes."

I gestured for him to turn around. He obeyed and faced the opposite wall.

Based on observation, I hypothesised that we had inherited some uncontrollable responses the species that we had become. To test the hypothesis, I was going to induce purring, a well-documented phenomenon in cats.

Admittedly, this was not the strangest thing I had done for science. It was one of them, though.

Hargrave had noticed my hesitation and turned his head to me.

"Should I be worried, sir?"

"Just face the wall," I gently pushed his head back into position.

His ears seemed to twitch nervously.

Please do not make me regret this.

I reached towards his head and stroked the back of it. His ears stood up straight. I did it again. He seemed stiffened.

I continued. He stood rigidly and upright, more so than usual. His tail, what had become the best indicator of his mood, had tightly coiled near his feet. He had frozen.

No purring.

Perhaps, I needed something more vigorous.

I began to scratch softly behind one ear. He tilted that ear towards me.

His shoulders dropped slowly. The robot arms of his harness, as if they were a part of him, slanted down. There was movement in his tail as it half unravelled.

Still no purring.

I began to scratch both of his ears. His head now tilted downwards. His ears were angled to the side. His back sat in a loosened curve. His tail had completely unwound and hung low to the ground.

 _Still no purring._ How long must I do this ridiculous exercise for? Just give me what I want already.

His head seemed to come closer and closer to me.

I stopped scratching as it landed on my chest with a quiet thud. His eyes were shut. He was a ragdoll. Perplexingly, he did not open his eyes despite my halting.

Then he spun around somewhat limply and leant against me.

What was he doing?

He wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me into an embrace. His harness pressed against my stomach. He nuzzled me. I blinked as I felt a warm vibration resonate through my body from my lower chest.

I was at a loss at what to do. That _does not_ happen to me. That _never_ happens to me.

Well, this was an exceptional case. At least he was purring.

Was he aware that he had latched onto me? Was he oblivious?

I attempted to rouse him, "Hargrave," his ears pricked, "Hargrave."

He opened his eyes and looked up sleepily.

"Get off."

His eyes widened. He looked down at his arms.

Panic electrocuted him as he sprung back. His hand covered his mouth. My arms, which had hovered, crossed again.

"Oh my goodness!" he gasped.

He folded his hands in front and dipped his head. He was mortified; it was written all over his face despite his weak attempt to hide it behind civility.

"My _deepest_ apologies, sir! I don't know wh- "

"Enough," I silenced his prattling.

His mouth snapped shut in an instant.

What was I going to do with this mess? I couldn't even admonish him; my brain hadn't finished processing what just happened. I was baffled.

"Leave," I instructed, "I have some thinking to do."

A disheartened sigh came from the cat before he bowed. He departed gingerly. The door hushed open as he did so.

I wandered up to a benchtop and leant on it, looking down. I took a deep breath.

I walked into this laboratory with one question and, apparently, I shall leave with more. Mainly, how much of _whatever that was_ was from him being a cat and how much of it was from him being _him_? He had his, shall we say, idiosyncrasies that make working with him…interesting.

We need to have a little talk.

* * *

As I entered the control room, the rattling of keys paused as Hargrave turned to greet me. The giant monitor was filled with windows of technical text.

"Ah, Doctor. I have good news."

"Really?"

I perched on my throne. He was rather pleased with himself, seemingly eager.

"Yes. The initial diagnostics show that none of the vital systems have been compromised. If anything, our landing gears have been grazed slightly."

He flashed an awkward smile at the last comment.

"Oh, and," he spun around to the computer and pressed a few buttons, "I have also successfully reinstated the security system, so we're back online."

An image flashed onto the screen. It was of a wooded area. Some of the trees had been flattened. It was a livestream from one of the several cameras mounted on the outside of the ship.

The butler cat departed from the computer and scurried up to my throne. He stood next to me.

For a moment, we watched the peaceful nature, letting the atmosphere of outside flow into the room. It was pleasantly quiet.

Actually, it was almost silent. He did fix the audio, didn't he?

A soft anxious voice asked, "You're not annoyed at me, are you, sir?"

My butler had a look of guilt on his face.

"No," I began, "I just have more questions than I have answers."

He shifted uncomfortably in place.

"What exactly was going through your head when you decided to hug me?"

He stuttered, "Oh, um, well, that's the problem: I wasn't thinking."

He gazed towards the screen, attempting to stay unemotive. He was always one to be stoic.

He wasn't going to like the next question.

"Fine, what did you _feel_ when you decided to hug me?"

His eyes popped at the question. Then they darted to me, to the screen and to various places on the floor. They finished on the screen.

He frowned, "Erm, c-cosy, I s-suppose."

"Cosy?"

He winced when I echoed the word.

"So, what was I, a giant soft toy that you _had_ to cuddle?"

He did a half shrug before dropping his gaze to the ground. His posture sunk with it, robot arms included.

"Right," I said, taking his lack of response as his answer.

I knew he was modest but, quite frankly, it was shocking that an embrace would send him into this pathetic state.

But the stunt itself was not completely unexpected. The time for which it took for something like it to occur was the most surprising part.

"Hargrave," I stroked my chin, "I cannot help but notice a pattern in your behaviour."

"Oh?" his voice quivered.

On my hand, I counted the ways.

"There is your undying loyalty to me, your constant fussing over my safety –"

He mumbled, "That's my job."

He was shrinking as I continued, "- you shower me with compliments, you even, at one point, were recording all the quips I made during plots."

He squirmed, tail flicking abruptly before twisting tightly. He glanced at me again.

"And now, we can add hugging to the list."

I leant towards him.

"I know you're affectionate, but I can only wonder if there is something more at play here."

His eyes stayed transfixed on the ground. He was immobile, as if he became paralysed. Although he had trained himself to have an impeccable poker face, horror peeked through.

Then he closed his eyes and nodded.

I raised my eyebrows, "Hm. Would you like to tell me?"

He opened his eyes and stared at the screen once again.

He swallowed then spoke softly, "I rather keep that to myself."

Damnit. Why must you be so guarded?

I regarded nature, using it as a backdrop for my pondering.

What would he keep from me? And why was he so hesitant?

Strolling into the view of the camera, was Dom Pyro and Six. Their disappeared as quickly as they appeared, with their chatter trailing behind.

Hargrave still seemingly watched the screen. I believed he withdrew; his eyes were a little empty.

I had known this man for years and it was only now I thought of questioning why he was so fond of me.

Fondness. Affection. Love?

Wait a second.

I was either about to make a fool out of myself or have my suspicions confirmed.

Bemused, I asked, "Do you think I'm handsome?"

The question straightened his posture. He blinked slowly as his ears raised. The question finally seemed to register. He covered his mouth. He swivelled to me, eyes full of astonishment.

The words escaped through his fingers, "You are."

It was followed by a shy chuckle.

Ah.

Of all the time I had known him, it had never occurred to me that he was attracted to men. Or _me,_ for that matter. That explains a few things. Quite a few things. Many things.

His hands had moved from his mouth. He rubbed them absentmindedly. His ears flattened.

His voice trembled, "You're not disgusted, are you?"

I was unfazed. I had become accustomed to his antics. Come to think of it, it was pleasant to have someone embellish me with worship.

My eyes flickered to the floor and back as I chuffed.

"Actually, I'm flattered."

His eyes lit up in that moment. A bashful smirk grew.

"Oh, thank Heavens," he whispered with a hand on his chest.

Then it migrated to his chin, "You wouldn't tell the others, would you, sir?"

My mouth opened to answer but someone else curtly interrupted.

"Tell us what?!"

Jolted with lightning, the butler cat leapt onto the side of my throne with a yelp. Leaning from the doorway was Dom with a beaky grin. He snickered as he waltzed into the room. Six followed.

As it became apparent that he was unable to detach himself from my chair, I got up and pulled Hargrave off. He was a bit stunned as I placed him on the ground.

He muttered as he fixed himself, "My old heart can't take all these shocks in one day."

I addressed Dom and Six with the butler by my side.

The boy said, "We have no idea what you were talking about. We just know that you don't want to tell us."

Dom had a sly smile as he teased the butler, "Keeping secrets from us, huh?"

I dragged his attention back to me, "What _did_ you discover on your walk?"

"Trees," Six responded happily, "Lots and lots of trees," he paused to remember, "and, uh, bugs. There were a lot of bugs."

The vulture shrugged, "There's nothing but forest around here. Not even any birds or animals. Just plants and insects. Weird."

What kind of forest only has insects and the like? I found it hard to believe that the entire surrounding ecosystem could be sustained solely by 'bugs'. There must be _some_ other creatures that lived here.

The boy then innocently added, "We also discovered that Dom can't fly."

"Wha?!" the bird turned to him, hand on chest, appalled, "I can at least glide!"

"That doesn't really count…"

"Doesn't count? Doesn't _count?!_ I've only had these for a day!"

I withdrew from the irate yammering to give Hargrave an instruction.

My voice was low, "How about you test those thrusters? Get us out of here."

"With pleasure," he bowed with a smile.

No one noticed that he walked around them, sat down at the controls and started the preparations for launch. Nor did they notice that I went back to my place on the throne.

Dom gestured to Six, "What do _you_ , whatever the Hell you're meant to be, know about flying?"

"That you're bad at it."

He squawked, ruffling his feathers.

Then the butler remarked, "Face it, Dom. You know you're terrible if a _cat_ can best you at flying."

The boys turned to the screen. They gaped when they realised what was happening.

Six glanced to where I was standing. His eyes skated around the room as he searched for me.

He found me, "We're leaving, Father?"

"Yes."

Dom spun around, "You never told us that the ship still works!"

I held open hands to him, "It was a secret."

A hissing chortle came from the cat.

"Now, I suggest you two take a seat. It's going to be a rough take-off."

They did so, with Six even greeting Hargrave as he sat next to him. The butler made a courteous nod in return.

The engines suddenly roared. With a shift of the controls, we blasted forwards. The room shuddered as we ran along the earth, rattling us with it.

The shaking stopped as we veered up, throwing us back into our seats. We blasted into the sky, eventually stabilising.

Finally, _something_ goes right. Why can't it be like this _all the time?_ Life would be so much easier.

But it's unpredictable, uncontrollable. To keep us on our toes, I suppose.

Maybe, flying through the sky, as a hyena, _now_ I could have a break. Maybe.


End file.
